The present invention relates generally to FLY-TIE. FISHING LURES. More specifically, the present invention relates to a fishing lure eye assembly to be tied into a fly-tie lure assembly to simulate the eyes of the bait.
In the sport of fly-tie fishing, it has been well known to employ an eye assembly tied into the lure to simulate the eyes of the bait, such as an insect. Typically, these eye assemblies are tied by hand into the fishing lure.
However, prior art eye assemblies do not result in a realistic pair of eyes for the bait. As a result, the overall realism of the fly-tie is diminished resulting in an inferior bait, which in turn, affects the ability of the user to catch fish. Prior art eye assemblies typically include a central bar with a pair of hemispherical members on each end, respectfully. The rounded portions of the hemispheres connect with the central bar while the flat portions of the hemispheres point outward and away from the central bar. During the tying of the fly-tie, the person tying the fly-tie incorporates the eye assembly into the entire lure by tying string or the like around the central bar to leave the hemispherical eyes exposed. The flat, exposed surfaces of the hemispherical eyes are then painted with the appropriate coloring to simulate an iris and pupil on each eye. However, the flat surface of the exposed portion of the hemispherical eye is not realistic or a good simulation of actual bait eyes.
In that, bait eyes are more realistic if they have a spherical or bulging configuration. In the prior art, attempts have been made to provide an outer eye surface of a spherical or rounded shape to more closely simulate the eyes of a bait. However, this attempt in the prior art to provide a more realistic bait eye has in common with the flat bait eye in that the surface of the exposed portions of the eye are simply painted with the appropriate colors to represent a pupil and an iris.
The drawback in these prior art eye assemblies is that the exposed surfaces are simply painted. As a result, the painted markings for the eye features easily chip or grind off even only after a few uses. In the event a thicker, more viscous, paint is employed on the surface on the exposed eye, the volume of paint tends to easily pop off. As a result, the realism of the lure degrades quickly due to the inferior eye assemblies known in the prior art.
Due to the demand for a fly-tying eye assembly which resists wear, it is desirous for a person who employs fly-ties to be able to incorporate an eye assembly into their lures which will maintain its realism and resist wear over many times of usage.